Eternal Melody (38 page)

Yes
, Rebecca thought,
I will have my champagne anyway, and I truly have reason to celebrate
!

*****

Hours later, the fiancés lounged together by an unlit fireplace, dreaming of winter’s arrival and how they would not feel cold even if no wood ever burned in the fireplace. 
Rebecca eased into Luke’s enveloping arms, more emotionally sated than she had been in her life.  Not even the first time she and Luke made love had she felt this sense of completion.

Toasting to their fu
ture, surrounded by family and friends, love
was
abundant and served as a prelude to the unity she would
experience
at her wedding.  Wedding!  The word resounded like an
aria
in her head.  Rebecca had once
been certain that
she would be without a husband, and the prospect had been lonely
yet not unbearably so
.  But after falling in love with Luke, she wholeheartedly welcomed the partnership into her life and
even
fantasize
d
about having babies with him.

“What are you thinking about?” He inquired, caressing the nape of her neck.

“Making babies.” She replied brightly.  “I hope that doesn’t scare you.”

“Scare me?  What could be more fun than making babies?”

She jabbed him playfully with her elbow.  “I wasn’t just thinking about the actual creation of them.  I was thinking about raising them, silly!”

“Raising them?  Well if you insist, I suppose we could do that too.”

“Stop that!  You do want children, don’t you?”
Rebecca asked, momentarily alarmed.

“Absolutely I want children.  But we already have one
, so there’s no need to rush
.
 
Annabelle
has been so neglected in her life and needs extra attention.
” He reminded her.

“Annabelle doesn’t know how lucky she is.  I don’t know many men who would be willing to consider their niece through marriage as a daughter.” She remarked in amazement and admiration.

“
It’s easy to love Annabelle when I’m so insane about her gorgeous aunt…I mean mother.” He corrected himself.

The night slipped away with Luke and Rebecca in each other’s arms, neither having the slightest inclination to retire to bed.

When a
blushing
coral
sunrise cascaded through the sky and into the
villa, all was silent except for the placid sound of their breathing.

“This is our first sunrise together.” Rebecca whispered into Luke’s ear, tickling him with her breath.

“This is my first sunrise.” He proclaimed before wrapping his arms ful
ly around her and planting
an everlasting kiss on her lips as
golden
light
gracefully danced
like a halo
around them.

Salzburg, Austria-Hungary

Christmas
Eve
1902

The dining room table was graciously set with ivory linen napkins folded in the shape of doves, bone china plates
painted with
festive
designs
, and freshly polished silverware
that gleamed
.  A centerpiece of red and white poinsettias rested in between slender gold candles,
bathing
the room with a warm glow.  It was the first formal dinner Rebecca had hosted since moving into the modest house with her husband nearly a year ago.  Generally, their dual
performing
schedules did not permit them to entertain, but this Christmas they were blessed with the presence of two very special guests.

The aroma of roast goose stuffed with apples floated from the kitchen into the dining room, as Rebecca placed the
porcelain
serving dish near Luke so he could do the honors of carving.  Annabelle clapped her hands gleefully when Rebecca brought out round cut potatoes and a steaming hot bowl of sauerkraut. 
A basket of sourdough rolls with tiny squares of sweet cream butter completed the meal.

“My dear Rebecca, this meal looks sublime.” Gloria said,
unfolding a napkin and placing it in her
lap.

“
So it was
worth the trip from Michigan?” Rebecca joked, earning a laugh from her husband and their guests, Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Graysen.

At the reception of Rebecca and Luke’s February 1901 wedding, held in Salzburg, Christopher had proposed to Gloria.  The couple had married that spring and returned to permanent residence in the United States, where they lived in the old Meadow house in Grand Rapids. 
During the combined sea and land voyage,
Gloria had been panicked that the abandoned house would have been ransacked or otherwise violated, but it stood stoic as ever on the hill.

The decision to retire from conducting had not been an easy one for Christopher, but as he edged closer to his seventieth year, he longed for a simple life free of the constant travel
, competition,
and upheaval of the music business. 
To his delight, his sons-in-law had found jobs in Michigan and helped him and Gloria tend the grounds of the house, weeding the garden, making repairs, and painting the interior
among other tasks
. 
Having his daughters and grandchildren in the area was a bonus to the already contented life he shared with Gloria.

“It was most definitely worth the trip from Michigan!   I only wish your brother, Ryan, could be here.” Gloria sighed wistfully, thinking of her grandson.

She could not allow herself to worry about him, though, as he was
now
a happily married man living in Italy with the ballerina of his dreams. 
Ryan
and Concetta
were still based in Venice, where this holiday season
he
was involved in a production of Handel’s
The Messiah
.  No, Gloria thought, it was fine for Ryan to be absent from this holiday feast, but as soon as a great-grandchild entered the picture, she would expect to see the baby every possible opportunity
, even if she had to
paddle all the way to
Venice
.

“I wish he and Concetta could have been here too.
This time of year makes me wonder what my other sibling could be doing…” Rebecca trailed off, glimpsing the stern look on her grandmother’s face and her meaningful nod in Annabelle’s direction.  Completely oblivious to any adult tension, the
dimpled
three year old
was stirring her sauerkraut around in circles on her miniature plate.

“Don’t even think of speaking those names.” Gloria warned, earning a sympathe
tic look from Christopher and a solemn
expression of concurrence from Luke, who poked his potato with a fork, feeling suddenly angry.

No one had heard a word from Gregory or Ethel since they had abandoned their daughter in the summer of 1900.  After
their wedding
, Luke and Rebecca had legally adopted the girl and were
waiting
until she reached a
more suitable age
to tell her the truth of her parentage.  Neither Luke nor Rebecca relished that inevitable conversation, but they knew
that
in good conscience
it had to be broached.

“I’m sorry, Grandmother.  You’re right, of course.” Rebecca looked down at her plate, knowing she should forget about her disloyal brother, but still harboring resentment over
his
vanishing act.  She adored mothering Annabelle, but held Gregory and Ethel accountable for the heartache the girl would one day face when she learned that her parents had deserted her in a foreign country.

“Ladies, concentrate on enjoying this sumptuous meal, please.” Christopher Graysen winked, sliding comfortably into his new role as patriarch of the family.

Even living on separate continents, Rebecca felt a special bond with the old man, solidified even more by the daily joy he bestowed upon her grandmother. 
Since retiring and returning to the States, Christopher Graysen seemed to defy
aging
, and his bride had the same youthful flush that had
washed
over her the day they met at the rehearsal hall in Vienna. 
To Rebecca, the place was a cherished relic, as two couples had met and fallen in love there. 
As
the new
conductor of the International Philharmonic Orchestra
, Luke was petitioning to have the building restored, not to alter the historical Gothic architecture, but to
refresh and preserve the inside.  Several members of the
orchestra had already enthusiastically come forward to
assist, much to Rebecca and Luke’s delight.

Luke gazed admiringly at his wife from across the oval dining room table, enraptured by how the burning candles reflected
crimson
highlights in her hair.  As she looked back at him through twinkling azure eyes, he ventured to ask, “Shall we share our news
now
, sweetheart?”

“Ye
s, I believe so.” Rebecca said,
taking a deep breath as the elders looked expectantly at her.  “You may not be able to guess from this loose
dress I am wearing, but Luke and I are thrilled to announce that I am with child!”

Luke and Christopher exchanged proud, beaming glances, while Gloria gasped and covered her mouth with one hand, exclaiming, “My God, this is the most wonderful news!!  Congratulations, my darlings
!
”

Surfacing from her sauerkraut
/
art project
and twirling her spoon around
, Annabelle shouted, “I’m getting a brother or sister!  But I hope a
sister
!”

The adults laughed heartily and finished the meal
,
speaking
of nothing else but the birth of the Springwells’ first child, due in May
of the following year
.

Later, when all the plates had been cleared and the men were loosening their belts
, Rebecca disappeared into the master bedroom and took a seat on
a mahogany
rocking chair.  Remembering how Annabelle had loved to be rocked
as
an infant, Rebecca began to sway back and forth, placing one hand gently over her belly.  In a soft voice, she sang
a lullaby.

Hearing his wife’s angelic voice echo down the corridor, Luke joined her in the bedroom, singing along with her. 
When they had sung the last verse
together
, Luke kissed her forehead and said, “I certainly hope this baby will love music as much as his parents
do
.”

“You mean
her
parents,” Rebecca teased.

Luke’s lips smiled, but his eyes were earnest as he confessed,
“It does
not
matter if we have a son or a daughter, as long as God will continu
e to compose our eternal melody---with
endless verses of
joy
and a perpetual refrain of love
.”

Dear Reader:

Thank you for reading
Eternal Melody
!  I hope yo
u enjoyed reading about Rebecca’s
romance with Luke
. 
I also hope you will listen to some of the beautiful music featured in this book.

I love to hear from my
readers.  W
rite to me at
[email protected]
.

Cordially,

Anisa Claire West

About the Author

Anisa Claire West
graduated with honors from
Yale University and also holds a Master of Arts degree in Literature and Teaching.  Learning about cultures is Anisa’s passion, and she has studied more than half a dozen languages including French
, Arabic,
and Italian.  A certified yoga instructor, Anisa embraces mind-body fitness, animal advocacy, and a vegetarian lifestyle.  Anisa Claire West is also the author of the
fantasy
novellas of the
Silver Goddess Series
and
the romantic suspense
Northern Moonlight
.